Archive for February, 2010

… These polytechnics would come up in those districts which are not yet served by the government polytechnics. The districts include Boudh Gajapati, Nabarangpur, Bolangir, Kalahandi, Koraput, Kandhamal, Mayurbhanj and Balasore to name a few.

… It may be noted that 13 government engineering schools and polytechnics are already functioning in Orissa under the state industries department.

… A single patch of land spread over 10 acres has already been identified by the state government in each of the districts.

Out of Rs 12.3 crore sanctioned for each polytechnic, Rs eight crore will be spent on civil works and Rs 4.3 crore will be spent on equipment, machinery, furniture and learning resource material.

With the opening of these 22 polytechnics, every district in the state will have at least government polytechnic providing quality education.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment of the Government of India has decided to set up 91 new ITIs (Industrial Training Institutes) and 415 Skill Development Centres (SDCs) in Orissa on the public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

While the Orissa government would provide basic infrastructural support for these ITIs and SDCs including free land with proper power, water and road connectivity, the Centre would provide Viability Gap Funding.

The proposed ITI s would have a strength of 250 trainees per shift running about 10 demand driven trades. An estimated Rs six crore would be spent towards infrastructural development on each of these ITI s.

The proposed SDCs would be smaller centres of vocational training with seating capacity of about 300 persons per shift per annum to meet the skill training needs of the locals.

About Rs 50 lakh would be invested on equipment and machineries for these SDCs.

Expressions of Interest would be invited from the training providers to operationalize these proposed ITI s and SDCs on the PPP mode.

… About 3-5 acres of land need to be identified for the establishment of ITI s at the unrepresented block headquarters while 500 sq m of land is needed for setting up the SDC at the gram panchayat headquarters.

Moreover, the Government of India has decided to upgrade 1396 government ITI s across the country on the PPP mode through an interest free loan of Rs 2.5 crore.

Nine ITI s in the state at Puri, Cuttack, Chhatrapur, Umerkote, Barbil, Dhenkanal, Barbil, Baripada, Baripada and Malkangiri are covered under this initiative.

69. Setting up of Indian institute of Engineering, Science & Technology (IIEST): A State University, namely, Bengal Engineering and Science University, Shibpur is proposed to be converted into a Central Government Institute, namely, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST).

Odisha must continue to push the conversion of VSSUT Burla to an IIEST.

Technology innovation through dedicated research work by a Core team has been the philosophy of CIPET, which led to the establishment of 02 R&D centres – Laboratory for Advance Research in polymeric Materials (LARPM) & Advance Research School for Technology & Product simulation (ARSTPS) at CIPET Bhubaneswar& Chennai respectively. …

The vision for these R&D Centres have been conceived with objectives of transforming CIPET as a Global research Centre on Polymeric Materials as well as a Resource centre for newer concept development & conversion of concept into reality by Product development on commercial scales. Technology transfer, creation of Intellectual Property (IP), knowledge base with validated documentation would be the key aspects of functioning of R&D entities.

The significance of LARPM & ARSTPS is evident from the fact that they will be chaired by Director General and functioning independently under the Technology & Business development department of Corporate Office. The targets for both R&D centres have been set to pursue the objectives in mission mode. The experienced & competent faculties have been drawn from the existing pool of CIPET along with newly inducted researchers.

Operating model of LARPM & ARSTPS would be influenced with 03 “Rs”- Relevance to industry needs, Result-oriented output, Resourceful base to operate as ‘Centre of excellence”. It is worth mentioning that LARPM has already been sanctioned 03 sponsored projects from Funding agencies of Govt. of India. Similarly, ARSTPS has already initiated industry sponsored projects for Automotive, Medical & Aerospace Industries.

Patnaik said that the Union secretary also said the Centre is willing to set up a branch of the CIPET (Cental Institute of Plastic Engineering Tehncology) at Balasore in the state. For the institute, the state government has agreed to provide 15 acres of land, he disclosed.

The information regarding the other two Odisha campuses of CIPET are in the following web sites.

… Since both large and medium scale industries are coming in good numbers all over the State and particularly surrounding this technical university, more job-oriented courses will be opened soon to create employment avenues for the students. The new courses will be water resources management, industrial power control and electric drives, material technology, manufacturing system engineering etc, informed Tripathy.

He also informed that all the vacancies in teaching and non-teaching posts would be filled up soon to convert this age-old institution to a full-fledged university.

… Tripathy informed that efforts are being made to give the entire campus a total new look by naming the campus as ‘Siddhi Vihar’ and the hostels after the Saptarshi Mandal.

… students of the university have stood first in the Robotic event at IIT Kharagpur recently. At the same time, it had successfully organised Samavesh-2010 with 2500 engineering students belonging to different engineering colleges all over the State. “There is possibility of getting Rs.10-20 crore aid from the World Bank for research activities,” Swain informed.

Sahyog Foundation, a city-based non-profit organization, would invest Rs 1100 crore in setting up a medicity spread over 300 acres at Jagatpur near Cuttack as well as a medical college and hospital at Keonjhar.

The amount will be raised by the foundation through a mix of debt and contributions from the promoters and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs).

The Keonjhar project which is being taken up on the public private partnership (PPP) mode at an investment of Rs 200 crore will have a medical college with an intake of 50 seats to begin with and a 300-bed hospital.

Debasis Sahoo, director, Sahyog Foundation said, “We will sign the MoU … with the Orissa government for setting up the medical college and hospital at Keonjhar by the end of this month. Apart from alloting 20 acres of land free of cost, the state government has also given us an incentive grant of Rs 10 crore for the project.”

Construction work on the proposed medical college and hospital at Keonjhar is set to take off in April this year and the first batch of students for the MBBS course will be admitted in 2011.

“While the hospital at Keonjhar will offer treatment in various super specialties, the focus will be on malaria ad tuberculosis. Seventy per cent of the beds in this hospital will be reserved for the BPL (Below Poverty Line) families.”

… The medical college and hospital at Keonjhar will offer direct employment opportunities to 3000 people.

For its Rs 900-crore medicity project at Jagatpur, Sahyog Foundation has started the process of land acquisition. The medicity project is expected to be operational by 2014.

Besides a 150-seater medical college and a 700-bed hospital, the medicity will have a homeopathic college, an Ayurvedic college and other public amenities like a shopping mall, gymnasium, swimming pool and food court.

… Apart from generating around 5000 direct jobs, the medicity will also create indirect employment for 150000 people.

Similar news was reported earlier (for example here) but the numbers in those early reports did not make sense.

Similarly there have been news reports (see here and here) about a US based group called Euthenic Group consortium that wants to set up a 1000 bed super speciality hospital in Orissa. However, after seeing the webpage of Euthenic Group (see http://euthenicgroup.com/) I don’t have a good feeling on this. Also I don’t understand what is meant when expressbuzz says the following:

After completion of the project, it will be handed over to the State Government. The hospital will be the property of the State Government.

It does not quite make financial sense that this group will make an hospital and then hand it over to the state government at the end of the completion of project. May be by "at the completion of project" they mean after a long long time; say 30 years.

The North South Foundation provides scholarships to needy children who display academic excellence in India. The Foundation has distributed more than 2,000 scholarships to students who need financial support to pursue their quest for knowledge in engineering, medicine, polytechinc, science and other fields.

The scholarship is an annual award and not a one-time payment. The student is eligible for the scholarship until graduation as long as the high academic standards are maintained. The Foundation funds these scholarships by raising donations in the US. The local chapters located in various states in India do the commendable job of advertising to invite applications from students, screening these applications and selecting the most needy group of students who eventually become NSF scholarship recipients.

Currently there are nine chapters in the following cities: Bangalore, Bhavnagar, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jodhpur, Kolkata and Pune.

Prof. Amiya Kumar Pattanayak has been appointed as the new vice-chancellor of the Utkal University of Culture. …

Born in 1949, Prof Pattanayak started his academic journey in 1972. He holds a Ph.D in history and was professor in Berhampur University during 1994-2008. He was Registrar of Berhampur University, served as a warden, was also the Director of Distant Education Centre, Director of College Developmental Council and Director’s Women Studies Research Centre.

Prof Pattanayak has written six books, edited 12 books, has sixty-five research publications. 15 scholars have been awarded Ph.D under his guidance. Nine are continuing research under him at present. He has produced 37 M.Phil. scholars.

To facilitate and diffuse the philosophy of Honey Bee, 21 numbers of Inno-clubs (Innovate Orissa Clubs) are working in the state. Each inno-club is a satellite of Ama AkhaPakha and ultimately a micro satellite of Honey Bee. Most of the members of these clubs are sons and daughters of farmers and some are unemployed youth. Besides, 3 women inno-clubs and 106 students inno -clubs are established.

Making of an e-group:

One e-group has been formed called akhapakha@yahoogroups.com to diffuse the philosophy of Honey bee to its readers.

Making Poetry for students:

Poetry does the trick for students. Small episodes of innovations/TK written in poetic form with illustrations have been prepared and hung in school notice boards/literature board. This has created tremendous effect on school children and has become one of the best way to diffuse philosophy of Honey bee to TINY TOTS.

Research Programmes:

Ama Akhapakha in collaboration with the Patho lab of Kalinga hospital, Bhubaneswar undertakes research programme on herbal drugs. One research programme for validation of a herbal drug against mastitis of cows prepared by SEVA, Madurai during year 2003-04 with microbial sensitivity tests and antibiogram study.

NIF Award:

Sri lingaraj Pradhan of Jakeikala village of Bonaigarh subdivision in Sundargarh district of Orissa is awrded a consolation prize under agricultural practice category in 3rd national competition.

The first issue of Ama AkhaPakha was published on 26th April of 2002.Now it has come out with 15 issues in the last 4 years(from2002 to2005) .The next issue of 2006 is in print.Each issue contains 30-40 pages.

Diffusion of Honey Bee philosophy:

Ama AkhaPakha, the quarterly Oriya version of Honey Bee, has been working for scouting ,documenting and diffusing the grass root innovations and traditional knowledge of Orissa. Besides it also regularly features Innovations and ITK of other states which are already published in Honey Bee magazine.

Subscribers of Ama AkhaPakha:

There are a total no of 800 copies printed in each issue. Out of these, 439 are paid subscribers, spread in all over Orissa. They are supplied with the magazine by post. Most of the subscribers are from rural Orissa.The noted subscribers are:

District administration of Kondhmal for its 106 schools as essential study materials.

Self Help Groups: 26.

Nirantar Sikshya Kendra: 113.

Jana Sikhya Kendra: 4.

NGO: 10.

Number of Readers of Ama AkhaPakha:

There are approximately 10,000 readers of Ama AkhaPakha .Most of these readers are school students, farmers, women in SHG and Nirantar Sikshya Kendras.

Scouting and Documentation of grass root Innovations and ITK:

Up to the year2005

Total No Of Entries sent to NIF- 1325

Students innovations-25

Other 600 nos are in process of documentation and are ready be sent by end of Dec/2005.

Editor of Orissalinks: I am planning to get in touch with the above people and find out more about their current activities.

Update: As per another report in tathya.in the Odisha ST & SC development department plans to also support SC and ST students joining Sainik School. Another great move by the department and its visionary secretary Ashok Tripathy.

… The Department of ST & SC Development has set in motion a pioneering proposal to help out the bright students of the ST and SC categories.

… it is proposed to select at least 100 students from the ST and SC communities strictly on merit to reimburse their entire expenditures for studying in the best schools of the State from Classes-I to XII, said an official.

There are a number of residential schools of international standard in the State. Leading the list are Sai International, KIIT International, DPS, Phulnakhara, DPS, Damanjodi, DPS, Angul, DAV Public School at Unit VIII, Bhubaneswar.

… The students selected for admission will be provided tool kits and proper baggage so that they will not feel inferior to their affluent classmates. They will be provided to-and-fro journey expenses from the schools to their native places during holidays.

It should be noted that the RTE bill and its draft rules requires something similar. But kudos are due to the Odisha SC & ST department and its secretary Ashok Tripathy for taking proactive steps and having it implemented early in Odisha.

The State Government has decided to set up a technical university in Sambalpur. This university would be christened as Sambalpur University Institute of Information Technology. The State Government has provided Rs 10 crore for this institute.

The Pioneer news above is a bit inaccurate. As far as I know it will be a part of Sambalpur University. The idea was mooted by Sambalpur University VC (who was earlier a Computer Science professor at University of Hyderabad) Prof. Arun Pujari. I have seen part of the proposal. Prof. Pujari had a very good proposal. His proposal and persistent efforts to get it approved finally got enthusiastic support from the IT Secretary Mr. Pradipta Mahaptra, the RDC and the Additional Chief Secretary Mr. S. P. Nanda and higher education officials (HE Secretary Mr. M. Padhi and others) and ministry. Kudos to all of them.

With the establishment of this Odisha will soon have three IIIT type institutes in Bhubaneswar, Berhampur and Sambalpur.

Special thanks to Prof. Arun Pujari. He has several other innovative plans for Sambalpur University. He has also made some very good hires in the Science disciplines at Sambalpur University. If he continues at the current rate he will be remembered as one of the best VCs of Sambalpur University. Lets support his innovative initiatives with all our heart.